Three champions vie

With a historic Feb. 5 victory over St. Margaret’s finally behind it, the Sage Hill School girls’ soccer team can finally look ahead to the postseason.

Seven area teams, including the Lightning, who won their first Academy League championship since the school’s inception, advanced to the CIF Southern Section playoffs. All playoff games are at 3 p.m., unless otherwise noted.

Sage Hill (12-8-3, 9-0-1 in league) will play host to Saddleback Valley Christian (9-6-2), the No. 2 representative from the San Joaquin Hills League, Saturday at 3 p.m. in a Division VI first-round clash

The Lightning defeated the Warriors, 3-2, in a preseason match Dec. 11, when Sage was missing four of its starters.

Caroline Witte, Kirby Anderson, Jordan Team, and senior striker Kellee Kim were all absent, but now the entire team is healthy, including sophomore goalkeeper Hannah MacLeod, who is no longer questionable for Saturday’s game due to back spasms.

The team will also benefit from having the full attention of Harvard-bound Kim, who has spent much of the season shuttling back and forth between soccer and her duties as assistant director of the school play. Now that the musical is over, Kim will be able to focus solely on soccer.

“Mentally, she’s better because she’s here,” Sage Hill Coach Chino Cid said. “She’s not thinking about one or the other. It lets the team work together and learn each other on the field with more time.”

Unlike some of the larger divisions, Cid said that the difference between being a No.1 or No. 2 representative isn’t that great, though the Lightning do have home-field advantage. What tends to matter more is which league that representative is coming from.

The Christian, High Desert, and Big Sky leagues tend to field the most potent teams. Last season, the Lightning lost to a Big Sky team — Calvary Chapel Murrietta — 2-1, in the first round of the playoffs.

When the Lightning reached the division semifinals in 2005, the farthest the Sage Hill girls have ever gone in the playoffs, the Lightning lost, 2-0, to Desert Christian, a High Desert team.

The winner of Saturday’s game will face the winner of the Animo Leadership-St. Paul match. Sage Hill lost, 2-0, to Animo Jan. 5 in the St. Margaret’s tournament.

The Costa Mesa girls are treading on familiar territory after winning their six straight league title, and the Estancia boys’ team claimed their second straight Orange Coast League title.

The Mustangs (12-7-3, 5-1-3) will play Bonita (9-9-4, 4-3-1), the No. 3 representative from the Miramonte League at home Saturday at 3 p.m. in the first round of Division III play.

The Estancia boys (10-6-3, 7-2) won the Orange Coast League title after they finally figured out how to beat Laguna Beach, the only team that dealt Estancia losses in league play. After losing, 2-0, and 2-1, the Eagles won their second straight league title with a 2-1 victory over the Breakers in their last home game of the regular season. Estancia now has home-field advantage in a Division III first-round game against Norwalk (12-5-2, 9-2-1 in the Suburban League) Friday.

The Corona del Mar girls’ team advanced to the postseason for the fifth time in Bryan Middleton’s six years and the Estancia girls are also postseason bound.

If the Corona del Mar girls’ team (12-7-3, 5-3 in the Pacific Coast League) wins its first-round Division III road game against Brea Olinda (17-3-2) Saturday, the Sea Kings will have a shot at a home game in the second round against the Moorpark-Pasadena winner.

Middleton said he would be leaning on his former assistant, Allison Spencer, now the head coach at Fountain Valley, for a scouting report on Brea Olinda.

Estancia (12-8-3, 5-2-2) defeated the Mustangs, 3-1, Jan. 22. It was the first time in 13 years the Eagles had defeated their cross-town rivals in a league matchup.

The Eagles will play at Beverly Hills (15-9-3, 7-2-1 in the Ocean League) Saturday at 3 p.m. in the first round of Division III competition.This is the Eagles’ second trip to the playoffs under Coach Steve Crenshaw. Estancia lost to La Mirada in the first round in 2005, but the experience was still valuable for this team, Crenshaw said.

“The atmosphere of a playoff game is different,” Crenshaw said. “Everybody’s out there to prove something, and the level of competition steps up. Having that one game under their belts is going to give at least those who are juniors and seniors a much better idea of what they need to do to step up and compete. And I think they’ll convey that message to the younger players.”

But the boys’ teams from Corona del Mar and Sage Hill may face the most arduous postseason climb of all. Both teams are starting the season with wild-card games.

The Sea Kings (5-8-3, 4-3-1 in the Pacific Coast League) will play at Sunny Hills (10-9-4, 6-4 in the Freeway League) Wednesday at 3 p.m. in Division III.

Despite tying Beckman for second place in the Pacific Coast League, Corona del Mar lost the coin flip and was designated as the No. 3 representative. If victorious, CdM will play a first-round road game against San Antonio League champion South Hills (15-2-3).

CdM is led by senior forward Paulo Iaccarino, and sophomore forward Reed Williams, and senior midfielder Mitchell Williams.

This season marks the first time the Lighting boys’ team has started the postseason with a wild-card game. Sage Hill will play at Desert Mirage (11-9-3, 4-2-3 in the De Anza League) Wednesday at 3 p.m. in Division VI action.

If victorious, Sage would play at Big Sky League champion Woodcrest Christian (19-3-2) Friday.

SORAYA NADIA MCDONALD may be reached at (714) 966-4613 or at soraya.mcdonald@latimes.com.